Copyholder



Feb.f22, 1949. E. H. METCALF 2,462,273

COPY HOLDER Filed July 6, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I l l /22 i /40 5 2 /34 IN VEN TOR'.

Patented Feb. 22, 1949 UNITED STATES sans OFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to copy holders of the type having a stationary backing plate, a line indicator cooperative therewith and means for moving the paper to be copied upwardly over the surface of said backing plate and past the line indicator.

A general object of the invention is to provide a new and improved copy holder which will handle not only sheets of paper but also a folded paper-ribbon. Subsidiary objects of the invention are to provide a copy holder of this kind which may be readily collapsed when not in use. Other subsidiary objects are to provide a copy holder of this kind with new and improved means for feeding the copy, whether it is in the form of a paper sheet or a folded-paper-ribbon, oy feeding steps which may be of various lengths.

With these and other objects in view, the invention comprises the novel features and combination of parts hereinafter described and shown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1-is a side elevation of the device; Fig. la is a fragmentary elevation of a portion of Fig. 1; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, showing the means for varying the length of the paper feeding step; Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the button of the device shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a top plan view of said button; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the part of the device which is the folded-paper-ribbon holder; Figs. 7 and 8 are diagrammatic views of the folded-paper-ribbon holder shown in Fig. 6 in its extended and in its folded positions; Fig. 9 is a rear elevation of the device; and Fig. 10 is a fragmentary front elevation of one edge of the upper part of the device.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 9, the device is shown as having a base l2 having upwardly extending side members I4 and I6 to which is secured a stationary backing plate I 8 having side lips and 22 which are secured to the upwardly extending side members Ill and I6 by screws 24. It will be noted that the backing plate I8 at its top edge is curved rearwardly and is provided with forwardly extending ears 25, as shown at the tops of Figs. 1 and 9. These lips 26 serve as guides for the folded-paper-ribbon, as will be hereinafter described. It will also be noted that the backing plate is provided near its top with a U-shaped guide member 28 pivotally connected at 3Q to the lips 20 and 22 of the backing plate I8. This guide member 2S serves to insure that the paper sheets or the folded-paper- 2 ribbon will move backwardly over the top of the guide plate when the device is in use.

It will also be noted that the backing plate I8 is provided near its top portion with an opening into which extends a feed roller 32, preferably rubber covered, which has a shaft Sii journaled in the lips 2li and 22 of the backing plate. rhe feed roller 32 projects through the opening in the backing plate I8 slightly beyond the front surfacel thereof and cooperates with rollers 35 and 38 preferably of rubber which are freely rotatable upon a shaft d. The shaft iii is secured at its ends to levers 2 and lill, the lower ends of which carry hubs it and 48 which are journaled in the lips 2@ and 22 of the backing plate E8, the hubs #l and Sil are rigidly attached by set screws 5@ to the ends of a shaft $2. Extending from the lever 3 is a lug 515i to which is attached a coil spring 5@ secured at its lower end to a post 5% extending from the frame member it. rThis spring 5S obviously serves to yieldingly hold the rollers 35 and 33 in engagement with the feed roller 32. Besides carrying the shaft d@ upon which the rollers 36 and 38 are mounted, the levers i2 and lid carry a line indicator @Il the upper edge of which extends horizontally and parallel to and spaced a slight distance from the front surface of the backing plate I8. As shown in Fig. 1, the lever lili is provided With a projection 62 adapted to be engaged by t -e iinger of the user when the user desires to swing the rollers 36 and 38 and the line indicator Eil forwardly during the threading of a sheet of paper or a folded-paper-ribbon into the device.

The means for effecting step-by-step rotation of the feed roller 32 will now be described. As shown in Figs. 1 and 1a the shaft 3d of the feed roller 32 has rigidly secured thereto a ratchet wheel Si. This ratchet wheel E54 is engaged by a holding pawl E5 and by an actuating pawl 66 which is pivotally connected at 68 to a lever l@ pivotally mounted on the shaft 34. The pawl 65 is yieldingly held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by a coil spring 'l2 connected at one end to the pawl 66 and at the other end to the lever 10. Pivotally connected at 68 to the lever 'l0 is a fitting 'Hi secured to the upper end of a downwardly extending rod l. This rod 'i6 is pivotally connected at its lower end to a lever 'IS which is pivotally mounted at 8? on the base portion of the machine. The lever 'i3 is biased to the position shown in Figs. l and 9 by the spring 82 which at its lower end is connected at Eli to the lever 18 and at its upper end is connected to a pin t@ secured to the side member I6. The right hand end of the lever 'I3 (as viewed in Fig. 9), is engaged by a manually operable lever 88 (see Fig. 1) which is pivotally mounted at S0 in an upwardly extending portion 92 of an auxiliary base member 94. As shown in Fig. 1, the lever 88 is provided at its end with a linger piece S5 by which the outer end of the lever 38 may be depressed by the nger of the user of the device. The auxiliary base member Sli carries a segment 98 provided withnotches and |02, and the segment 98 is journaled on a Stub shaft |04 mounted in two lugs Illia` extending upwardly from the base member i2. Thus the segment 93 and the auxiliary base member 94 having the extending portion 92 are pivotally mounted on a transverse' horizontal axis on the stub shaft Idd. notches |00 and |82 in the segment 08 are adapt ed to be engaged by a latch |68 pivotally mounted on the main frame l2 of the machine at Ill as shown in Fig. l, said latch being gravity actuated. A'sshownin Fig. 1, the latch |08 is engaging' the notch |02 in the'segment 90, and the auxiliary base member 34 is in the extended position in which it must be when the device is in use.

When the outer end of the lever 83 carrying the nger piece 96 is depressed, it causes the rotation of the feed roller 32 through the medium of the lever '18, rod 'i6 carrying the fitting lll, pawl and ratchet wheel 54, as will be obvious from Figs. land 9; and whenpressure on the finger piece 96 is released, the lever 38. and the parts which transmit its motion to the feed roller 32 are restored totheir normal positions by the spring 82. A guide attached to the base of the device, cooperates with the lever 8S and confines the latter to its proper path of movement. Since it is desirable that the feeding of the paper by movement of the feed roller 32 be regulatable as to extent, means is provided for so limiting the movement of the lever 88 that the extent of the rotation of the feed roller 32 will correspond to l, 2 or 3 teeth of the ratchet wheel E4. That limiting means is shown in Figs. 1 to 5. It will be evident from those gures that the lever 8S moves within a space defined at its bottom and on its sides by a rearwardly extending part I |2 of the upwardly extending portion 02 of the auxiliary base member 94, and defined at its top by a rotatable button having an upwardly extending knurled portion H4 and a base portion H0. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the said base portion l i6 is provided on its bottom with three step formations, i i8, |20 and |22, each of which extends over the lever 83 according to the position at which the rotatable button is set. As shown in Fig. 3, the rotatable button is secured to a pin |24 which is slidably and rotatably mounted in the frame part H2, a spring |26 being arranged as shown in Fig. 3 to yieldingly hold the button in its upper position. As will be obvious from Figs. 3 and 5, the top of the basefportion l is provided with three notches (shown in Fig. 5 adjacentthe indices i, 2 and 3) which cooperate with a nger |28 carried by the member ||2. It will be understood that when the button lsl depressed against the force exerted by the spring |25, the button may be rotated so as to bring any one of its three notches in alignment with thevfinger |28. Thus the button may be set withlany one of its three step formations l I8, |20 and |22 above the lever 83, thereby controlling the extent of the paper-feeding movement of the lever 88 and theV extent to which the feeding roller 32 is rotated.

In Fig. 1, a sheet of paper which has been inserted in the device between the feed roller 32 The and the cooperating rollers 36 and 38, is indicated in dash and dot lines at |30. It will be understood that the insertion of such a sheet of paper is easily accomplished by applying a finger to the projection 62 and swinging the rollers 38 and 38 and the line indicator S0 forwardly against the tension of the spring 5t. Feeding of the paper upwardly is accomplished vby depressing the lever 88, and the rate of feeding at each depression of the lever 38 is determined by the setting of the rotatable button having a knurled portion H4, as hereinbefore described.

The means whereby the device is made capable of handling a folded-paper-ribbon will now be described. This means is best shown in Figs. 1 and'; and Figs. '7 and 8 show in a diagrammatic way the folded-paper-ribbon supporting means in its active and inactive positions. As illustrated, this folded-paper-ribbon supporting means is hingedly attached to the rear side of the backing plate i8 and comprises a shelf |32 havingturned up edges |33 and lugs |35 which surround and are rotatable on a pin |35 having at each end eyes |38 adapted to receive rivets Mt* which pass through the backing plate It. Pivotally attached at lflil to the shelf |32 is a bar |42 which extends upwardly and rearwardly as shown in Figs. 1 and 6 and is pivotally connected at IM to a U-shapcd member having outwardly extending ends |48 which pivotally engage lugs extending from the rear surfaces of the backing plate |8, as shown in Figs. l, 6 and 9. Lugs |52 (Fig. 9) which may be secured to or punched out from the backing plate i3 engage the shelf |32at its end below the lugs i3d, and prevent the shelf |32 from dropping below the horizontal position shown in Fig. l. Fig. 1 shows at |513 a fo1ded-paper-ribbon threaded into the copy holder, and the arrows adjacent the ribbon |54 show the direction in which the 40 ribbon travels during periodic rotation of the feed roller S2 in the manner hereinbefore described. It will be noted that the folded-paper-ribbon |54 is guided in its travel by the ears 26 at the top of the backing plate, and that as the ribbon |54 is drawn from 4the inclined position in which it rests against the bar |42, it drops down behind the bar M2 and folds itself into a neat pile on the shelf |32. Thus a folded pile of ribbon-paper may be inserted in the machine and, after being fed through it, may be removed in its folded condition.

From Figs. 7 and 8, it will be apparent how the means for holding the folded-paper-1ibbon may be collapsed from its functioning position shown in Fig. '7 to its non-functioning position shown in Fig. 8. It will also be obvious from the foregoing description that the auxiliary base 04 and all of the parts carried by it, including the actuating lever and the adjustable button mechanism, may be folded from the position shown in Fig. 1 (with the latch |08 engaging the notch |02 in the segnient 58) to a position in which the latch |08 engages the notch l. Thus it is apparent that those portions of the device which project ccnsiderably rearwardly and forwardly from the backing plate i8 and the base l2 may be collapsed so that shipping and storing of the copy holder are facilitated.

What is claimed is:

1. A copy holder comprising a main base portion; a stationary backing plate having an opening therein supported. by said base portion; an auxiliary base portion pivotably attached on a transverse horizontal axis to said main base portion; means for locking said auxiliary base portion either projecting forwardly in alignment With said main base portion or projecting upwardly at substantially a right angle thereto; a line indicator pivotally supported with reference to said backing plate adjacent the opening therein; means for effecting step-by-step upward feeding of a paper between said backing plate and said line indicator including a manually operable lever pivotally mounted on said auxiliary base portion; manually adjustable means carried by said auxiliary base portion and cooperating with said lever for limiting the actuating movement thereof; and collapsible means attached to and extending rearwardly from the back of said backing plate for supplying to and receiving from said paper-feeding means a folded-paper-ribbon.

2. A copy holder according to claim 1, in which the means for locking said auxiliary base portion either in alignment with said main b-ase portion or at substantially a right angle thereto comprises a notched segment carried by said auxiliary base portion, anda latch carried by said main base portion and cooperating with said notched segment. y

3. A copy holder according to claim 1, in which the means for effecting step-by-step upward feeding of a paper between said backing plate and said line indicator includes a roller rotatably supported with reference to said backing plate adjacent the opening therein, a roller carried by said line indicator and cooperating with said feed roller, a pawl and ratchet mechanism cooperating with said feed roller, and means operatively connecting the manually operable lever with said ratchet mechanism.

4. A copy holder according to claim 1, in which the manually adjustable means carried by said auxiliary base portion and cooperating with said lever for limiting the :actuating movement thereof comprises a rotatable button supported by said auxiliary base portion and provided with step formations any one of which is adapted to cooperate With said lever and limit movement thereof.

5. A copy holder according to claim 1, in which the collapsible means supported behind said backing plate for supplying to and receiving from said paper Vfeeding means a folded-paper-ribbon comprising a shelf pivotally mounted at the rear of said backing plate, a bar pivotally attached to said shelf', and a U-shaped member pivotally mounted at the rear of said backing plate and pivotally attached to said bar.

6. A copy holder comprising a main base portion a stationary backing plate having an opening therein supported by said base portion; an auxiliary base portion pivotally attached to and projecting forwardly from said main base portion; means for locking said auxiliary base por- .tion either in alignment with said main base portion or at substantially a right angle thereto comprising a notched segment carried by said auxiliary base portion, and a latch carried by said main base portion and cooperating with said notched segment; a line indicator pivotally supported with reference to said backing plate adjacent the opening therein; means for effect- 4 ing step-by-step upward feeding of a paper between said backing plate and said line indicator comprising a roller rotatably supported with reference to said backing plate adjacent the opening therein, a roller carried by said line indicator and cooperating with said feed roller, a pawl and ratchet mechanism cooperating with said feed roller, a manually operable lever pivotally mounted on said auxiliary base portion, and means operatively connecting said lever with said ratchet mechanism; means for limiting the actuating movement of said lever comprising a rotatable button supported by said auxiliary base portion and provided with step formations any one of which is adapted to cooperate with said lever and limit the movement thereof; and collapsible means for supplying to and receiving from said paper-feeding means a folded-paperribbon comprising a shelf pivotally mounted at the rear of said backing plate, a bar pivotally attached to said shelf, and a U-shaped member pivotally mounted at the rear of said backing plate and pivotally -attached to said bar.

EARL I-I. METC'ALF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Y Number Name Date 1,658,553 Gnabler Jan. 5, 1926 1,962,540 Weaver June 12, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 306,556 Great Britain Mar. 20, 1930 

